* Tomb chest with rare oak effigies of William Poley (died 1587) and his wife Alice (died 1577). The oak has turned black with age. William is dressed in armour, with his head on a helmet. Alice has a prayer book with the arms of Poley and Shae, and rests on a pillow inscribed "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord".

Over a hundred passengerless coaches have taken to the streets of Linfen, Shanxi province, allegedly to rack up enough miles to secure the extra funds. Residents told Beijing Time that the buses, operated by Linfen Xinyu Tourism Co. Ltd., have been running from roughly 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day since October, with only a driver aboard.

In January, China implemented a guideline to better regulate the burgeoning new-energy vehicle industry. The standard called for “non-private” electric vehicles to rack up 30,000 kilometers in order to receive government subsidies. Companies like Linfen Xinyu, whose buses are categorized as “mid- to heavy-duty,” can receive up to 500,000 yuan ($75,000) in subsidies per new-energy vehicle, or one that is mostly or entirely powered by electricity.

The company’s manager, surnamed Hao, has denied any subterfuge or foul play. He told Beijing Time that the buses were running to keep their batteries performing well during the chilly winter months. Temperatures in Linfen over the past few weeks have occasionally dropped below freezing...

...More than 20 villagers participated, nine of whom were told they were at risk of disease. Oddly, all of the diseases centered around the reproductive organs — specifically, the uterus (dạ con, tử cung) and the prostate (tuyến tiền liệt).

The three staff members who carried out the checks then offered to drive the nine at-risk villagers to the hospital for further screening and treatment, promising to provide half-price discounts on medications, should they be needed.

At the hospital, the villagers were charged hundreds of yuan for medication, with some opting for additional procedures that cost even more. One woman even had a surgery to remove a “cervical polyp” (u xơ cổ tử cung) which may or may not have been present, and which cost her more than 4,700 yuan ($710). With all expenses accounted for, what started as free checkups costs the villagers over 11,000 yuan.

The villagers, meanwhile, said the staff spent hardly any time examining them before asking them to pay for medications. The woman who underwent the invasive surgery was not even given a medical report — just a bill for the procedure.

The scam was exposed in an online forum by a netizen claiming to be a relative of one of the villagers...

...tried to tweak welfare spending. Previously, failed asylum-seekers received a monthly cash benefit of around 1,200 SEK ($140) and housing; this was scrapped last year. On May 31st the government voted to limit paid parental leave for immigrants: previously, refugees could claim the full amount of paid leave (480 days per child under the age of eight). Now they can only do so if the child is under one year old. For big families the benefits will be limited further.

These tweaks, however, do not tackle the biggest problem Sweden faces in integrating new arrivals: its rigid labour market (thị trường lao động cứng nhắc). Many refugees do not have the skills (kỹ năng) or connections (quan hệ) to enter the workforce. Sweden has one of the largest gaps in employment between native and foreign-born workers.

According to the Modern Express newspaper, police have closed down mobile apps associated with 21 companies and arrested more than 600 suspects operating across 13 provinces, after discovering that messages from some women were being automatically generated by computer programmes.

Police in southern Guangdong province began investigating in August 2017, after suspecting one app of fraudulently charging visitors to view pornographic videos which did not exist.

Further investigation found that technical personnel from at least one company had created fake “sexy girl” accounts. They wrote computer programmes which generated greeting messages and compliments from fake accounts, and targeted these at newly registered users.

The kimchi trade first went into deficit in 2006, triggering soul-searching and a headline-grabbing scandal…

South Korea imported more than 275,000 tonnes of kimchi last year, 99 percent of it from China, the Korea Customs Service (KCS) said, and exported just more than 24,000 tonnes.

The deficit stood at US$47.3 million by value, up 11 percent year-on-year and the largest since the KCS began tracking the data in 2000.

Price is a major factor in the trade, with imports costing just US$0.50 per kilogram in 2016, according to Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp, while exports — primarily destined for Japan — averaged US$3.36 per kilogram…

...The sadhu - a holy man following the Hindu or Jainist tradition - was photographed performing a bizarre feat of strength as he pulled a truck around using only his penis.

Sadhus are wandering holy men who have rejected earthly comforts in search of spiritual enlightenment in the hopes of breaking the cycle of reincarnation (sự tái sinh trong một thể xác mới, đầu thai), a major tenet (nguyên lý, giáo lý) of Hinduism.

As such they own no possession and opt for only modest clothes, or in some cases decided to live naked, relying on the kindness of strangers to provide for them wherever they go.

Often sadhus will perform feats of physical or mental strength as a display of their spirituality and mastery of yoga techniques, as the majority of them are also yogis...